U.S. CongressmanPATRICK McHENRY

Contact: Jeff Butler 202-225-2576

Washington, June 16, 2016 - Today, Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R, NC-10), Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and co-leader of House Republican's Innovation Initiative, had two bills addressing capital formation pass out of the Committee in a bipartisan manner.

H.R. 4854, the Supporting America's Innovators Act of 2016 passed the committee 57 to 2 while H.R. 4855, the Fix Crowdfunding Act passed the Committee 57 to 2. Both bills are part of the Innovation Initiative which was jointly launched by Congressman McHenry and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, CA-23). The bills now await action on the House floor. 

"Today, small businesses--particularly those in rural America--face immense challenges raising capital as traditional lenders have greatly reduced small business lending," said Congressman McHenry. "To confront this challenge, we must harness technology and encourage innovative forms of capital formation to fill the void. Crowdfunding and angel investing are two great examples. I'm encouraged to see both of my bills clear the committee in a bipartisan fashion and am hopeful they will both receive a vote on the House floor soon." 

H.R. 4854, the Supporting America's Innovators Act of 2016 amends an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940 to by increasing the investor limitation from 100 to 250 persons for qualifying venture capital funds. You can view McHenry's testimony in support of H.R. 4854 by clicking here. Full text of the bill is available here. 

H.R. 4855, the Fix Crowdfunding Act amends Title III of the JOBS Act by raising the dollar amount limit and clarifying certain requirements under the Exchange Act 12(g) requirements, and permit single purpose funds to participate in the sale and offer of crowdfunding securities. You can view McHenry's testimony in support of H.R. 4855 by clicking here. Full text of the bill is available here.